Totally Under Control

The 2020 documentary Alex Gibney made with Ophelia Harutyunyan and Suzanne Hillinger examines the United States response in the first months of the pandemic. It was filmed while the pandemic was under way and released before the election, which gives it an unusual urgency. Its strength is comparison: South Korea and the United States saw their first case on the same day, and the paths the two countries took diverged completely. Why test kits were produced late, how institutions were sidelined and how experts were silenced are set out in detail. The interviews were shot under pandemic conditions with a special rig. The film's limit is that, being so close to events, some of its conclusions stay unresolved. Who it's for: viewers interested in investigative documentary and debates about pandemic management. Who it's not for: anyone wanting an assessment at a distance, or avoiding political argument.